Protecting Missourians’ personal privacy and First Amendment rights is not a new priority; however, we don’t often see a state agency using those protections as a shield against our state’s Sunshine laws.
Year after year, Missouri’s most liberal legislators file bills in an attempt to force private, not-for-profit organizations to disclose the personal information of their donors. Attempts at forced disclosure also occur at the national level, as with the recent misnamed “For the People Act.” We have long opposed these measures as we believe they undermine the Constitutional protections of the First Amendment rights of speech, assembly, and association from government restriction
Fortunately for Missourians, courageous leaders in the Missouri legislature proactively filed and passed the Personal Privacy Protection Act (PPPA). The PPPA bars any public entity from disclosing “personal information” of an individual which is defined specifically in the law as information “that directly or indirectly identifies a person as a member, supporter, or volunteer of, or donor of financial or non-financial support to, any entity exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.”
Non-profit organizations serve an important role in helping individuals voice their opinions and encourage the exchange of free speech and ideas in our society. The clear intent of the PPPA is to protect individuals from retaliation or from being “cancelled” by those who oppose their views and the views of the private organizations they choose to support.
The Missouri legislature passed the PPPA this year as part of Representative Dan Houx’s House Bill 2400, and Governor Parson signed the bill into law June 30. We applaud Rep. Houx and Gov. Parson, along with the sponsor of the original bill, Sen. Sandy Crawford, and past sponsors Rep. Jered Taylor and Sen. Andrew Koenig, for taking a stand against cancel culture.
Unfortunately, our state government is now using the protections afforded by the PPPA as a way to shield information from the public. Recently, the Office of Administration, under the leadership of Commissioner Kenneth Zellers, posted a notice on its Division of Purchasing website stating “bid and contract records available in the Division of Purchasing’s Awarded Bid and Contract Document Search and posted on the MissouriBUYS Contract Board will be removed from public access,” and further “contract documents “will be removed from the MissouriBUYS Contract Board unless the law changes.”
Thirteen other states have passed the language of the PPPA, and none of those states have used their personal privacy protection laws as a way to block public access to important government information. The Office of Administration owes Missourians an explanation. Why and how would public contract records violate the PPPA? Is the law being used in an unintended manner to protect politically connected vendors? The intent of the PPPA is to protect the average member from being harassed due to his or her support of a non-profit organization. The intent is certainly not to hide the state’s ties to private organizations.
The PPPA passed as part of HB 2400, the majority of which was comprised of pro-business provisions including changes to the One Start program and a new research and development tax credit. While our state should do what it can to support Missouri businesses and a strong economy, we must also implement strong protections for our rights to privacy and freedom of association, while simultaneously holding government accountable to taxpayers for its spending decisions. The Personal Privacy Protection Act and the state Sunshine law are not mutually exclusive; they can and should co-exist and be upheld to the highest standard.
Chairman of the Missouri Century Foundation
"Opinion" - Google News
October 19, 2022 at 05:21AM
https://ift.tt/6pf71o4
Opinion: OA Wrongly Using New Law to Block Sunshine - The Missouri Times
"Opinion" - Google News
https://ift.tt/X5GcqYS
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment